Patriots Tab Eric Bugby as New Head Swimming & Diving Coach

By: UC Sports Information

Williamsburg, KY – University of the Cumberlands Athletic Director Chris Kraftick has introduced the rent of Eric Bugby as the brand new head coach of the Patriots Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving program.
 

“We are excited to welcome Eric to Cumberlands to lead our men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs. Eric brings a strong track record of developing student-athletes, building competitive programs, and fostering a culture of excellence both in and out of the pool,” stated Coach Kraftick. “We believe his vision, energy, and commitment to success align perfectly with the standards of our athletic department and that he will continue to build upon the success that our swimming & diving programs have had.”
 
Bugby joins UC after spending six seasons as the top coach at Niagara University the place he gained three Coach of the Year awards and 4 convention championships over six seasons. Under Bugby’s management, the mixed males’s and girls’s program skilled a formidable turnaround that resulted in his groups rising from the underside of the convention standings to a number of group championships within the final 4 years.

“I want to thank Chris Kraftick and Dr. Young for the opportunity to be the next head coach of Cumberlands swimming and diving program.  It was clear from the beginning that Cumberlands was the perfect fit,” stated Bugby.  “UC is an innovative and student first model with championship level athletes and teams.  I’m looking forward to meeting the team and jumping right into recruiting some of the best student-athletes across the country and worldwide.”

Bugby brings practically 20 years of teaching expertise to Williamsburg. Wrapping up his time at Niagara, Bugby was named the 2025 MAAC Coach of the Year as his males’s and girls’s squads swept the convention Championships.

 

In whole, the Purple Eagles notched over 400 program Top 10 performances, 71 pool data, 38 MAAC titles (18 relay, 20 particular person), 14 MAAC data, and two NCAA B-Cuts throughout Bugby’s tenure. He took the Niagara girls’s group from a seventh-place standing within the convention to a few MAAC crowns previously 4 seasons. On the boys’s facet, the Purple Eagles went from ninth to first, profitable this system’s first convention title since 1994.

 

Bugby additionally has expertise because the Associate Head Coach at Lehigh University, an Assistant Coach for the University of Denver, and the Associate Head Coach for the United States Military Academy (Army West Point).

 

A former collegiate student-athlete himself, Bugby is aware of what it takes to develop student-athletes into Champions within the pool and in life. From his first teaching gig as a graduate assistant coach at Arizona State to current day, Bugby has proved his potential to provide convention Champions, NCAA All-Americans, Olympic Trialists, and World Championships Qualifiers. Bugby was a swimmer at Duquesne University and holds Master levels from Arizona State and Niagara.

 

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